Page 18 of Into Orbit
I was on an alien spaceship, about to leave Earth to find my abducted best friend, and I was worried about going to sleep next to someone.
Priorities, McCarthy.
I stripped off the clothing the handsome doctor had given me, trying to ignore Elswyth, who was doing the same on the other side of the bed. Unfortunately, my libido had other ideas, and I glanced across at her just as she pulled off the Tirian equivalent of a bra – a crop-top fastened with vines, made from some kind of silicone-looking fabric – and I got an eyeful of her perfect breasts and peaked brown nipples. Breasts and nipples that I’d already spent an embarrassing amount of time thinking about since I’d glimpsed them in the clinic.
For fuck’s sake, Maeve. Pull yourself together.
Elswyth saw me looking, then cast her gaze to the bed, swallowing. ‘I’m not like other Tirians,’ she blurted out.
I dumped my clothes on the chair. ‘Yeah, I got that.’
‘No, I mean …’ She trailed off, chewing on her bottom lip. ‘I’m different in another way, too.’
I sat on the bed in my bralette and underwear. ‘Mmm?’
‘Tirians … We live in bonded groups we call families, held together by akaria,’ she said. ‘When we bond, it’s permanent. Forever. Our society revolves around our families as much as it does our Forests. But the Hamadryad are outside the family structure. We’re different.’ Her tone took on a note of sorrow. ‘We’re alone. We can bond time and time again – be claimed by ten families, by a hundred differentkaria. Even if we find one that helps us grow roots, we’re still not the same as other Tirians. We always know that things might change. That we might be forced apart again.’
‘Um,’ I said. ‘What the fuck is akaria?’
Elswyth lifted one naked shoulder in the sexiest shrug I’d ever seen. ‘The dominant female of a family. Its leader. She decides who joins the family and acts as its protector. She makes sure that her bonded have their needs met, and she maintains balance among them. Other species have different words for her, but we think of her as our centre. As our heart.’
Her voice was at once wistful and sad; I could see why. If she was already different to the rest of her kind, the prospect of never knowing the ever-lasting bond that everyone else had could lead to a yearning for it – if you were into that sort of thing.
‘Have you been … bonded … before, Elswyth?’
She shook her head, her flush spreading.
‘And bonding is … sex?’
She coughed. ‘It’s a lasting emotional tie. Some scientists think that the bonds alter Tirian biochemistry in such a permanent way that separation from their loved ones is impossible. They think that’s where the Hamadryad differ – no such alternation takes place within us. If we are allowed to bond for life, it’s because we choose it.’ She bit her lip. ‘But bonding can be triggered by sex, yes.’
I spread my hands over the blanket. It was unbelievably soft, made from some kind of synthetic material.
Probably as soft as Elswyth’s skin.
Don’t do it, Maeve.
‘Thank you for letting me know,’ I said. I stood, and pulled back the covers, then slipped into the bed. ‘Do you think we could talk about this again tomorrow? It’s been a long day.’
Her face fell. ‘Of course,’ she said, and waved her hand near a panel on the wall, throwing the room into immediate darkness. I barely felt the jostle as she climbed into the bed; she took a few moments to get comfortable, then was still. ‘Sweet dreams, Maeve.’
I started in surprise at the familiar saying. ‘Sweet dreams, Elswyth.’
We both lay in silence; I peered into the dark, not knowing what I was looking for. When the quiet became unbearable, I turned on my side. ‘Elswyth?’
‘Maeve?’ she answered at once, rustling as she moved.
I licked my lips. ‘I’ve never gone to sleep with anyone before.’
There was a moment as she digested my confession. ‘Ah,’ she said at last. ‘How can I help?’
I felt a rush of gratitude. Apparently, my fake wife wasn’t one for meaningless platitudes. ‘I’m not sure you can. I just wanted you to know.’
There was another rustle of the blanket as she moved; a moment later, I felt her cool fingers lacing through mine. I tightened mine in response, and we lay there in the dark, hands entwined.
I woke hours later. Elswyth had moved closer in the night – or maybe I’d rolled towards her – and her hair was spread over her pillow, giving off a soft glow. In the silver light, I could see the planes and angles of her face, the way her lips were curving, like she was having a good dream. Blossoms – the same as the ones that had grown on her shoulder in the Pod – were blooming up the wall behind the bed, their petals unfurling in Elswyth’s light.
Her hand was still in mine.
